The final building was unoccupied. It was now well past eleven, and I was dead on my feet. Bellona wanted to press on and go back home. She insisted it wasn't far, and her proposal of sleeping in a bed was tempting.

At one time, a bed sounded better than spending yet another night on the cold, hard ground. The farther we walked, the better the ground looked.

We knew we were close to the encampment when we started climbing a particular hill. When we reached the top, we froze.

On the other side of the hill was a large battalion of Surtu soldiers. They all had their blasters drawn and pointed at us.

My back ached, my feet were tired, and I felt like I could pass out from exhaustion, but I would never get a respite from being a warrior.

A cold feeling gripped my heart when Bellona spoke. "Terra, is that Fore at the back?"

I scanned the crowd. It was him. Strangely for a commander, he stood at the back of his Surtu soldiers, ready to use them for shields.

"I should have killed him when I had the chance," I said under my breath.

"You never mentioned that before. Why didn't you seize an opportunity like that for yourself?" Bellona looked at me incredulously.

"It seemed complicated at the time, and it doesn't matter now."

We put our hands up and walked towards the soldiers. Fore came to the front line and smiled at me.

"Terra Lynch. If I didn't know better, I would say we were destined to see each other again." He was gloating. Although my hands were above my head, I had several weapons concealed on my body. I wiggled my foot to feel the reassuring weight of my knife. I dropped my hand to my belt where I hid a short sword and small blaster.

"Keep your hands in the air," he said, pointing his weapon at me. "I doubt you'll recover from blaster fire as rapidly as a Surtu."

No, I definitely wouldn't. I put my hands back in the air.

"That's better. Now you will come with me, and we will return to the Fortuna. It will be just like old times."

I said nothing.

"Do you have anything to say? You're usually eloquent for a human."

"The only thing I have to say, Fore," I spit out. "Is that this war is stupid and useless. Surtu and humans are bonding of their free will. There's no need to force the human women into doing anything with Surtu males. If you let nature run its course, your mission will be accomplished without bloodshed."

Fore's tone changed, and he became serious. "That's a lovely idea, Terra," he said. "But reality paints a different picture. The disease is spreading. We are in constant communication with our homeworld. Additional Surtu women succumb every day, and only a few fertile Surtu women remain."

"Why don't you heal them?" Bellona asked.

"Our healing powers don't work on the disease. We don't know why. It's a disaster. But we know what we have to do for survival. We've been working on a plan for sixty years. We need human women to carry our children. There doesn't need to be any love..." and he stretched out the word, taunting me. "...involved."

"But..." I said. He held up his hand.

"That's enough. You and your friend will come quietly, or you will both regret it."

I glanced around at the group, hoping for a kind face. If I met Fore in a reasonable scenario, I was confident I could take him. Unfortunately, they outnumbered us twenty-five to two.

I looked at Bellona.

"What's he talking about?" she whispered so only I could hear her.

"He'll torture me or beat me when he gets me back to the Fortuna."

She smiled.

"He's never getting you back to the Fortuna," she said.

"How do you know?"

"Didn't you see the man in the front row, at the end?" she asked. I scanned the crowd, and when I saw it was a Surtu member of the resistance, my mouth dropped open. He didn't change expression or move.

"Enough chatting," Fore told us. He ordered his men to restrain us.

"Watch this," Bellona said. She held out her hands and looked contrite, bowing her head. As the soldiers approached, she took one of them down with a punch, jab, and roundhouse kick combination. It looked flashy, but it worked for Bellona. She hit another, knocking him unconscious.

She stood up as more Surtu moved towards her. She raised her hands above her head and roared the cry of the resistance.

"Freedom!"

Half of the band of soldiers lifted their blasters in the air and yelled back.

"Freedom!"

If I had seen more of this side of the resistance before, I would have been greatly encouraged. Our odds of survival became better immediately. Our Surtu allies moved to our side, pulling red rags out of their pockets to identify themselves and avoid killing one another.

Fore's men fought valiantly. On both sides, people were fighting for the future of their race. That day, we either got lucky or desired victory a little bit more.

Soon the only enemy Surtu left standing was Fore.

"Do you have any final words?" I said to him.

"Tell my son one thing," he said. "Even though he sees me as a monster, everything I did was for our family and his future grandchildren."

I nodded.

"I will," I said, giving the signal to Bellona, who approached him with a blaster. I turned and walked away, not wanting to watch. I flinched as I heard Bellona shoot once.

I ducked as Jidden swung a staff straight at my head. He was going full speed and did not hold anything back, even in practice. If it connected, I thought my head might detach from my body.

I came up under his reach and jabbed at his ribs with my weapon. I almost tagged him, but he blocked me successfully. The loud noise of our staffs clashing rang through the jungle. The watching crowd gasped, and Jidden relented, stepping back.

"Were you paying attention, humans? Did you see how she came beneath my guard? The movement started as a dodge, but Terra deceptively turned it into an attack on my ribs. Practice!" he shouted.

The group broke up into pairs that started bashing away at each other. Live training was involved. We tried to minimize injuries, but there was no way to practice effectively without the threat of harm.

"They're not looking too bad," Jidden said. I watched him carefully. His face didn't betray his emotions, but I knew he was lying.

"They're terrible," I whispered.

"Not as terrible as last week," Jidden reminded me. I allowed a small smile to crack my face.

"That's true," I conceded.

"We can do it. We'll whip this group of civilians into shape, and we'll go back and free the Earth. I believe in you, Terra."

"I know you do," I said. "And that's what helps me think anything is possible."

"Of course it is," he said, putting his arm around my shoulders. Just then, one of the women hit someone in the ribs, making her victim double over.

I went over to help the injured woman. She would need medical assistance.

JIDDEN.

Later that night I threw myself down beside Terra, spent from pleasuring her yet again. We never knew which time would be our last together. She lay with a satisfied look on her face, and I felt smug.

"Yes, you're a stud," she said, without opening her eyes.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" I asked. She always knew. We shared a light bond. Even if we had not, I believed she could see into my soul.

I watched her as my warrior woman drifted off to sleep. She was strong and beautiful.

She had finally faced down Captain Fore back on Earth. I had mixed emotions about his death. He was once my superior officer, but he had been cruel to Terra. If I had an opportunity to execute him, I had to admit that I might have killed him myself. I was surprised Terra exercised enough restraint to let him live during her first encounter.

We now had a sizeable group at the refuge, and we were going to train them in hand to hand combat and how to handle weapons properly. The humans learned quickly. Terra was disappointed at their progress, but she expected too much.

I buried myself in bed beside Terra, wrapping my arms around her. She smiled in her sleep. She was a warrior woman plotting to take back her planet, but for now, she was mine.

TERRA.

At the end of the week, the training area was empty. I stood in one corner, putting away the staffs. I hated a mess. Jidden had returned to our hut. He was going to fix dinner, and I was preparing for tomorrow's training session.

I tried to hide my real emotions from Jidden and the trainees, but every time practice was over, I felt despair. I wondered if the plan for revolution was feasible. Could the women of Earth rise against their aggressors? My heart felt heavy, and I wanted to quit.

When I felt most discouraged, a ball of light suddenly appeared. I first noticed it near the staffs. It flew around the other weaponry in the room, swords and daggers, flitting through and flashing brightly. Finally, it moved in my direction and bumped into me.

As quickly as it came, it disappeared. What did it mean?

It gave me hope. It was a message from someone. I didn't know who, but it was encouraging. Perhaps I merely needed to train the army, and the light indicated I was the person to lead it.

We could do it. The light restored my conviction. I had seen it before when it led me to safety, and it would lead us again.

The Earth was not lost. There was a flicker of hope among us.

ALSO BY LISA LACE.

TerraMates.

Water World Warrior.

Taken Water World Confidential.

Alpha's Enslaved Bride Auctioned to the Alpha.

Wrong Alien Naima Craving.

Irresistible Warrior Invasion.

The Surtu Warriors of Surtu.

Kidnapped by Surtu Captured by the Alien King.

Captured by the Alien King Mated to the Alien King Desert World Savages.

Desert World Savages.

Queen of the Savages.

Copyright 2016 by Lisa Lace.

end.